Game OptionsUC2: The Liandri Project comes equipped with the following game options:

  • Audio - music/sound/voice +/- slider
  • Controller - Invert Controls, Swap Thumbsticks, Center View (all on/off toggles), X&Y Sensitivity, Vibration (+/- sliders)
  • Game - Start with Melee Weapon, Autoswitch Weapons (both on/off toggles), Weapon Priority (similar to UT2004)
  • Advanced - Camera Adhesion, Taunt Messages, Death Messages (all on/off toggles), Zoom Style (instant/smooth), Camera View (1p/3p)

In online games, standard Live! options are available.GraphicsEpic has managed to squeeze an incredible amount of graphic goodness into the (now aged) Xbox console. Particularly stunning are the character animations, melee weapon effects, heavy attack effects, and the models and textures used for the weapons and characters. Perhaps I'm jaded from running UT2004 at maximum world detail, but the demo levels fell just short of what I'm used to looking at in an Unreal-engine game. That being said, you still won't be disappointed in the worlds, unless you're looking for decals (the scarring of the playing world due to weapon impact).The Story Mode preview is fabulous, with one always-annoying exception: the goofy looking graphics in the characters' mouths. I know Epic is trying to deal with teeth here, but it's just not working, as they flash bright and dark in an inappropriate and unrealistic manner. Maybe the next generation of the U-engine will deal with that.Sound/MusicGame sounds and music are completely up to my expectations of a major Unreal-engine game. Frankly, it's sometimes surprising how much ambiance a good score combined with excellent weapon sounds and game cues can add. Epic has always done a nice job with sounds and music, and UC2 is no exception here.Live! PerformanceAmazing as it may sound, I experienced some repeated lag issues while playing online. While I've also experienced some minor, very occasional lag in other games, such as Halo2, the frequency of lag-related game 'burps' in UC2 ranged from 'mildly annoying' to 'WTF is wrong with this game'. For the record, I'm on Comcast cable with 6 mbit down/768 kbit up. A couple of packet loss checks right after a couple of games yielded 0-2%, so I'm a little confused as to why I was getting hosed. Burps excluded, UC2 performed well enough.Gameplay What it all boils down to, though, is gameplay. This is where the original Unreal Championship for Xbox failed me, and I approached UC2 with caution in this area. Knowing that I hold all console controllers in great disdain when it comes to first person shooters, I enlisted the help of my son, Bonedigger, who has a couple years of experience playing them on the Xbox, including the Rainbow Six games, Halo, Halo2 (as of this writing, he's a level 20 in Halo2) and many, many more.The levels themselves are quite good, lending themselves to a variety of UC2-specific strengths. They each have areas well-suited for melee combat, heavy attack, jump attack and weapon fire, as well as the insane wall-jumping you can do. The wall-jumping is particularly effective. You can move so quickly via wall-jumping, you can austensibly avoid 90% or so of enemy fire. The UC2 weapons are so much slower than the speed at which you can wall-jump, only the spammier weapons will be a major concern for most.Both of us were disappointed in the sniper rifle performance. The projectile has been slowed down significantly and, while it is certainly more realistic than what I was expecting, this isn't a realistic game. I suppose it is necessary to limit the dominance of the sniper rifle (campers, spawn snipers, etc.), but - at best - it'll take some getting used to.We both liked the heavy attack and jump attack moves. Used effectively, both of these techniques can quickly turn a battle you might be losing into one where you are collecting the weapons/ammo from your slain opponent. A heavy attack, freezing your opponent, followed by a melee finishing move is quite satisfying.Another plus is the Stinger, missing far too long from the Unreal universe. It's spammy enough to help overcome the insane ratio of character movement vs. weapon speed, and powerful enough to be a completely viable death stick in most situations.Big props to melee mode, one of the major new items in UC2. There's something quite visceral about taking a character like Lauren into battle with her staff and going hand-to-hand with a number of opponents. It's like an extended translocator humiliation kill. By the way, where the heck is the translocator? I think UC2 could have really used it.On the minus side is the Ripjack. Primary fire releases a slow moving blade that requires luck and prayer to actually hit your opponent. Secondary fire charges up an exploding blade that, frankly, isn't useful except in close-combat situations, where you'll find yourself switching to melee mode anyway. I equate its usefulness to the Dispersion Pistol from Unreal 1.Some general gameplay impressions:

  • Rocket launcher splash damage appears to be reduced. This is surprising, considering how difficult it is to actually hit and eventually kill your opponent. I say eventually because, overall, I found the weapons to be a bit on the wimpy side. 3-5 Ripjack shots directly to the head before you score a head shot? Please.... your mileage may vary...
  • Slow characters (Szalor) are much slower than fast characters (Lauren). While that is compensated for by Szalor's increased health and strength, to me it didn't mean that 2+2=4.
  • There's very little health available in the demo levels, and lots (repeat: lots) of adrenaline. Make the best use of adrenaline and each life you have. Adrenaline-enhance abilities are a very big part being a successful UC2 player.
  • Without getting into a big Halo 2 vs. UC2 discussion (they are vastly different games), there are a couple of reasons why the H2 controls work out better than UC2s. First, H2 is a slower-paced game, with better balance between projectile (or energy blast) speed and character speed. Second, H2 has vehicles, which are also not the speediest, but are bigger targets. Here's where I rely a bit on Bonedigger: the UC2 controls are too clumsy to be effective against the faster characters (Lauren/Anubis). While it's not an impossible situation by any means, I quickly bailed on trying to hit Lauren with a Ripjack or Rocket Launcher, especially when she had the Nimble or Speed adrenaline boost. Matter of fact, anyone with Nimble or Speed was exceedingly difficult to hit with any weapon. Perhaps this is by design, but it didn't balance out in-game for me.One of the most frustrating things I had to come to terms with was coordinating my 'look' stick with my 'move' stick. Over and over again, my tactics were sound, but I simply couldn't get in enough of a groove to quickly target my enemy. I was constantly firing too high, too low, too left, too right. I have to admit, my son was more adept at controlling UC2 than I was, so I'm going to assume that - at some point - you pick up the necessary muscle memory to actually be dangerous (as I said, he has extensive experience with console FPS games), but even he had issues with the controls that, I know, would sour the game for him. I asked him, after a couple hours of online play, if he'd buy the game. He said 'maybe.' Five minutes later, he was playing Halo 2...For my part, I found UC2 to be a total thumbfest, and quite frustrating, as I have found all console FPS games. There was obviously a lot of thought and work that has gone into the control schema, but for me it just made things a little less impossible. After a couple hours, I did finally come to terms with the controls enough to play at an amature level, but by then I had a headache and simply didn't want to play anymore.
  • Back to the positive, the weapons effects and character animations are nothing short of spectacular. Cool explosions, glowing melee weapons, exacting, precise and deadly finishing moves and, of course, that ridiculous wall-jumping are fun for all ages. UC2 is certainly the best looking Unreal-engine game on the Xbox. Hell, they even included some decent shadowing. It's pretty much everything you'd expect from an eye-candy perspective.

Overall The third person camera control is very good, and the ability to set your camera mode by weapon is a nice touch. Frankly, 3p camera mode doesn't take much getting used to, and the field of view lends itself nicely to improving your gameplay.Non-melee weapons are a little weak, and unbalanced in relationship to player speed. Not having the opportunity to try out all the weapons, this may not be a problem in the full game, but as far as the demo is concerned, it's an issue for me, if not Prophetus.Adrenaline is God. Adrenaline abilities will make or break you in UC2. Lauren's ghost ability, the Repulse ability, Nimble, Speed... all of the adrenaline abilities are absolute must-use items. Lazy thumbs may not apply to the Championship.I don't think anyone can realistically expect the same precise control over the game as you have with a mouse and keyboard, regardless of how long you play UC2 or any other console FPS game. I am leaving open the possibility that, with a full array of weapons and some additional time with the game, I can progress from 'n00b' to 'he can play defense.' My son will have to take care of flag running for me.If you can handle the control schema for FPS console games, Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Project is certainly right up there with the best of 'em, including Halo 2. Particularly impressive is melee mode, which is great fun, especially in the DM gametypes. I'll probably play using the Melee Only mutator 95% of the time. The number of gametypes, levels and mutators that we'll see in the full game make UC2 a worthy and successful next step in the UC franchise and a helluva value.Links:Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Midway Games